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STRATEGY OF THE SCHOOL’S PRINCIPAL IN IMPROVING TEACHER’S PERFORMANCE FOR CURRICULUM
INDEPENDENCE
Deby Melina1, Nur Ahyani2, Rohana3
1SMK Aisyiyah Palembang
2Universitas PGRI Palembang
Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]
Article History: Received on 01 April 2023, Revised on 20 April 2023 Published on 05 May 2023
Abstract
The goal of this study was to identify and evaluate the supporting and impeding elements in the implementation of the principal’s strategy to enhance teacher teaching performance utilizing the autonomous curriculum at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang. This study uses descriptive qualitative research to obtain trustworthy information regarding the procedures used in data collection using observation, interviews, and documentation. The administrators and instructors at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang served as the study’s informants. According to the study’s findings, the principal has tried to enhance teachers’ abilities to teach utilizing the autonomous curriculum, specifically through education and training. implementation of a private curriculum for teachers and school administrators. Mentoring programs and independent curriculum training were also implemented in addition to the aforementioned technique. In this study, there were additional challenges like the creation of ATP, Teaching Modules, and the somewhat complex methods or media that needed to be used, as well as a lack of infrastructure to support them in the form of learning media, student handbooks, teacher handbooks, and assessments on the independent curriculum. beginning with formative and summative evaluations.
Keywords: Improving Teacher’s Teaching Performance, Independent Curriculum, Principal’s Strategy
A. Introduction
Teachers have a key role in educational institutions because they are so closely related to the processes of teaching and learning. It is always vital to undertake study on how to improve teacher performance, especially in the field of education management, because teacher performance influences the quality of the learning process. In their research findings, Basra et al. (2022) noted that raising the caliber of instructors ultimately raises the caliber of education. Indices of teacher performance provide a considerable overall contribution to the attainment of educational quality (Huda, 2021).
Regarding teacher performance, the Regulation of the Minister of National Education Number 35 of 2010 concerning Technical Instructions for the Implementation of Functional Teacher Positions and Credit Scores detail the activities of class and subject teachers, namely: (1) compiling a learning curriculum
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in educational units; (2) compiling a learning syllabus; (3) preparing a learning implementation plan; (4) carrying out learning activities; (5) preparing measuring instruments/questions according to the subjects; (6) assess and evaluate the process and learning outcomes in the subjects in the class; (7) analyze the results of learning assessment; (8) carrying out learning/improvement and enrichment by utilizing the results of assessment and evaluation; (9) carry out guidance and counseling in the class that is their responsibility (especially for class teachers); (10) to supervise the assessment and evaluation of learning processes and outcomes at the school/madrasah and national levels; (11) guide novice teachers in the induction program; (12) guiding students in extracurricular activities in the learning process;
(13) carry out self-development; (14) carrying out scientific publications and/or innovative works; and (15) scientific presentations.
There are still a lot of issues with how well teachers are performing right now.
The ability of teachers to inspire students while they are studying is currently the problem with teacher effectiveness Romdoni (2022). Teachers must use distinctive and fresh stimuli to pique students’ interest in learning and foster the development of their critical thinking abilities. The principal is accountable for and plays a significant role in efforts to address issues with teacher performance through raising teacher performance.
B. Methods
The research used in this study is descriptive qualitative. Qualitative research is a process that generates descriptive data from people’s written or spoken words and observable behavior (Moleong, 2016). The method used places an emphasis on tracking data until it is felt that it has been sufficiently used to generate an interpretation.
Qualitative research adheres to the naturalistic or phenomenological paradigm of what is understood by the research subject, such as perceptual behavior, motivation, actions, etc., holistically, and by using descriptions in the form of words - words and language, in a specific natural context, and by utilizing various scientific methods (Iskandar, 2018). Koentjaraningrat (2016), research using the descriptive qualitative technique describes specific persons or groups in detail, including the circumstances and symptoms that exist. Researchers will discuss their findings in this study in relation to the principal’s plan to boost teacher effectiveness at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang.
C. Results and Discussion
The findings in analyzing the results of this study, the researchers did based on the order of the problems including:
1. The Principal’s Leadership Strategy in Improving Teacher Performance at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang
In analyzing the results of this study, it begins by revealing the meaning of strategy as a method applied by a leader, in this case, to achieve the expected goals.
If the tactic is explained in words, it can be understood as a tactic, method, advice, or trick. A leader in an institutional organization that he has led needs to have
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intelligence in mastering the situations and conditions that the organization has in order to be able to implement a development program in mobilizing the organizational resources that he has led; this is one of the factors that determines the effectiveness. In the meantime, strategy is defined as an outline of the course in acting in order to achieve the specified goals.
This researcher uses the analytical thinking of Pupuh Fattuhrohman and M.
Sobry Sutikno to support the claim that a leader can utilize a variety of tactics, understand a variety of strategies, and, in practice, prioritize one over another in order to accomplish a desired goal. The researcher performed the following analyses on the research data in order to track the application of the targeted methods. At SMK Aisyiyah Palembang, teachers are aware that performance is defined as the maximum capacity to carry out tasks and responsibilities in the learning process, such as planning, implementing, and assessing learning outcomes so that it can be realized effectively. According to the teacher’s experience as a teacher and educator, teacher performance refers to the effort or method of work that has been applied by the teacher in the teaching and learning process in a professional and quality manner. Regarding what a teacher can accomplish in carrying out their responsibilities and achieving their objectives in teaching and educating. Supardi stressed that performance is an action that will be carried out to carry out, fulfill tasks and responsibilities in accordance with the expectations and goals set, in relation to his belief that performance is at the level of. After analyzing Supardi’s assertion that a leader’s ability to influence subordinates to achieve goals and objectives is the foundation for a teacher’s performance, the researcher asserts that it is the leader’s responsibility to determine the direction and goals of the school, offer guidance, and foster an environment that supports the organization’s implementation process.
The researcher makes this claim after noting that the principal of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang has mastered the art of influencing and directing people with obedience, trust, respect, and enthusiastic cooperation in order to achieve common goals. This leadership has direction, such as a process of influencing or giving an example from the leader to his followers in an effort to achieve the organizational goals he wants.
Consequently, the capacity to persuade a group to achieve objectives and realize educational objectives in the institution they direct. According to the study, school principals need to possess the following skills: SMK Aisyiyah Palembang already has a vision and mission; therefore, this insight ability is situated in a situation where it is necessary to be able to see far into the future (vision), know what actions to do (mission), and comprehend accurately about the way to be used (strategy). Its goal is to develop into a center of learning capable of producing pupils who are bright, successful, and steadfast in their faith and piety. According to academics that studied the headmaster of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang’s efforts, the principal, as an education manager, has a crucial role to play in determining and bringing the school he leads to achieve high standards. Of course, if the principal is able to develop a plan that is pertinent to the issue of raising teacher performance, this scenario can be successfully achieved.
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There are three broad types of strategies, including growth strategies, which may be used to the strategy executed at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang in line with the ideas of Sunarto and Jajuk Herawati. This strategy can be applied to both internal and external development. This tactic is implemented through organizing operations and reducing or eliminating unprofitable activities. The strategy used by the principal of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang in the action researcher’s analysis is a strategic effort moving forward so that the school led can be an example of a school that has dedication to providing the best education to the community. Stability strategy is used to maintain the current situation. According to the researcher’s analysis, this strategy has a direction that every action taken by the principal of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang has been calculated that the end of efforts and good faith in developing strategies such as extracurricular activities including: Hizbul Wathan, IPM, PMI, flag raising troops (Paskibrak). Even though the end result follows a certain strategy, this is not immediately visible for a long time, but in the end it has a very significant impact.
The purpose of extracurricular activities is to develop the abilities and creativity of students at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang so they can achieve extracurricular successes that will enhance their personal skills. Additionally, the principal’s decision strategy regarding the school program had previously received the support of all related parties (all teachers) at the "Aisyiyah Palembang Vocational School, and the decision must be carried out and implemented consistently or continuously by the school in fostering its students, thus an imperative decision must be made. Teachers must act in conformity with social standards, be communicative and sensitive to the community, and be understanding of and appreciative of their ideas. It is essential to advance the teaching profession in community-related issues if the interaction with the community is to remain positive and ongoing. According to some of the above-mentioned discussion, if it relates to teacher performance, the factors that affect teacher performance generally are factors from within the individual, such as the capability, satisfaction, enthusiasm, and motivation of a teacher in carrying out his work to achieve the goals set by educational institutions or schools, and outside variables like the economy, leadership’s support and guidance, a person’s education or the government’s policies, etc.
2. The School Principal’s Strategy to Improve Teacher Teaching Performance in using the Independent Curriculum
Mrs. "G5" stated that the efforts made by the school principal in the successful implementation of the independent curriculum at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang include:
a. Participated in the Education and Training program for the implementation of the independent curriculum
According to the school principal, one of the strategies for understanding the independent curriculum is through Education and Training (Training). The implementation of the independent curriculum is intended for school
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principals and school supervisors. With the independent curriculum implementation training, it is an important first step to accelerate understanding and skills in implementing the curriculum.
According to the vice principal, there is a training program from the government regarding the independent curriculum. For example, several teacher representatives were sent to take part in training on the implementation of the independent curriculum in the city of Palembang. This is done to increase their understanding and knowledge in implementing the independent curriculum in schools. This proves that the principal pays attention to the quality of human resources in schools. This program has the full support of school principals to create quality and better schools.
According to teachers "G7" and "G8", the training and socialization programs carried out by schools to understand the independent curriculum really helped teachers to make learning activities easier in class. The implementation of the independent curriculum is a strategic step in facing globalization and the future demands of Indonesian society. For example, during out-of-school training, we got a lot of lessons and understanding of how to apply the independent curriculum concept to students.
b. Assistance program and training in the implementation of the independent curriculum
This mentoring program is run to reaffirm comprehension of the independent curriculum concept and changes in the area as well as to assist in overcoming various challenges that come up when implementing the curriculum in schools.
The Independent Curriculum Implementation Assistance Program’s goals are to ensure that the Independent Curriculum is implemented properly and efficiently in schools and to offer solutions for any issues that may arise. This mentoring program targets school principals and teachers at the education unit level in implementing the independent curriculum through monitoring, consultation, information delivery, modeling, mentoring, and extracurricular activities. It is carried out by school supervisors, principals, and core teachers who have attended training on doing so. Activities that support independent curriculum implementation are geared on making it easier for teachers and school administrators to implement the independent curriculum in their Education Units.
The school principal’s teacher mentoring program in more detail is as follows:
1. Completion of the independent curriculum, including studies and discussions of the developed justifications or rationales, implementation of the independent curriculum, and elements of curriculum changes based on ATP, teaching modules, CP, TP, and IKTP. The mentality shift and the autonomous curriculum’s core components are significant aspects of this learning concept.
2. Setting up lesson plans in line with the ATP that the concerned instructor has created in accordance with the relevant subject areas and learning strategy methods in each type and degree of education.
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3. Putting learning into practice in accordance with the features of the kind and level of education.
4. The use of evaluation criteria and photofolios in accordance with the requirements and principles of authentic assessment.
In addition to the materials mentioned above, efforts are made to gather different barriers and other solutions to issues that arise when executing the curriculum in each Education Unit.
The curriculum representative claims that the autonomous curriculum uses four different teaching strategies: experimentation, peer teaching, contextual learning, and problem-based learning (PBL). In contrast, the 5 M method—which stands for watching, asking, seeing, thinking, and creating—is employed in the 2013 curriculum. When conducting learning activities, the teacher only employs the lecture method in the KTSP curriculum. The teacher is the only focus of the lesson.
Learning is more diverse in the independent curriculum and is contextualized with the help of engaged and capable students. The extracurricular activities that have been offered by schools in the past are one of the potential avenues for developing students’ character and raising their academic standards. Extracurricular activities are educational activities that take place outside of the regular curriculum and are designed by qualified teachers at the school to assist students grow in accordance with their needs, potential, talents, and interests. Students are therefore expected to be able to develop their potential and achievement through extracurricular activities as well as their skills and sense of social responsibility.
This is in line with the 18 values that schools must instill in students to determine the success of character education, including: (1) religion; (2) honesty; (3) tolerance; (4) discipline; (5) hard work; (6) creativity; (9) curiosity; (10) national spirit;
(11) love of the motherland; (12) respect for others; (13) friendliness or communicativeness; (14) peace-loving; (15) enjoyment of reading; (16) concern for the environment; (17) concern for others; and (18) responsibility. The examination of students’ attitudes, which can be incorporated into the learning of each subject, is where character education can be found in the independent curriculum. Each subject’s evolved values or norms that are connected to the context of daily life are reflected in the learning materials.
Implementing the independent curriculum is a calculated move toward addressing globalization and Indonesian society’s future demands. The creation of an autonomous curriculum include improving mindsets, curriculum governance, deepening and expanding material, enhancing learning processes, and changing learning loads to ensure congruence between what is desired and what is delivered.
The importance of developing curricula will increase as a result of future developments in science, technology, the arts, and culture, as well as societal changes at the local, national, regional, and worldwide levels. Mrs. "G5" feels that the autonomous curriculum’s implementation in the classroom does not sufficiently explain how students learn. However, during learning activities, both teachers and students take an active part. Students need to take a more active role in each scenario since they are given the freedom to explore their knowledge while learning is taking
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place. If a student makes a mistake, the teacher, who is still in charge, must be able to step in right away.
3. Implementation of the Independent Curriculum at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang Curriculum can be thought of as implementation and application. The process of carrying out a program in the form of learning, which includes teachers and students, is often referred to as implementation. The process of implementing a program plan (curriculum) in the form of classroom learning, carried out by the teacher as a learning tutor and students as objects that are given knowledge, can be summed up as the implementation of an independent curriculum. Students are expected to have three potentials within themselves in the form of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. The curriculum’s complete substance is essentially the same; the name differs from the development alone. The way that learning is elaborated also differs, albeit only slightly from the prior curriculum. The teacher is more silent as she watches the student investigate the made-up plans. Given that learning should be a lifetime process, it is important to ensure that those who complete a particular educational process—graduates or outputs—have the skills necessary to continue their education on their own. Only then can the core objectives of education be successfully met. According to management theory, a successful learning planning system must accomplish four goals. The first goal is graduation competency, which is defined as the product of students’ education. The second factor is the content of the lessons that teachers must teach and the material that students must learn in order to develop the necessary graduation competences. The implementation of learning (process, including learning methodology as part of the standard procedure) is the third component needed to ensure that students develop the three desired competences. The fourth step is to evaluate the process’ applicability and the learning objectives’ achievement as soon as possible to make sure that the inputs, processes, and outputs are all going according to schedule. According to the Law, learning objectives act as steps that students must take in order to reach the competency of graduates at the level of the educational unit. As kids become older, their academic performance improves, which is reflected in their grades. Assume that learning outcomes are a binder of competencies that students in each subject are required to create. The leadership of the school principal, particularly in organizing, mobilizing, and aligning all available educational resources, is the key to success that determines the effective implementation of the autonomous curriculum. When acting in his capacity as an educational leader, the principal of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang successfully implemented the independent curriculum for teachers. This is demonstrated by the fact that instructors receive autonomous curricular training from school principals. It is anticipated to make teaching in the classroom more convenient for teachers.
A brand-new curriculum will be used in 2022–2023 called the autonomous curriculum. The competency-based curriculum (KBK), which was developed in 2004, the education unit level curriculum (KTSP), which was developed in 2006, and the 2013 curriculum, which was developed in 2013, all served as the foundation for the development of this curriculum.
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The government has designed the implementation of the autonomous curriculum to create a cutting-edge educational environment that is contemporary. It is anticipated that this curriculum will be able to alter Indonesia’s competitive educational landscape. Implementing a curriculum simply means doing something or applying something. The process of applying a program in the form of learning, which involves communication between teachers and students, is often referred to as curriculum implementation. As a result, it is feasible to interpret the process of implementing technology-based classroom learning systems as the implementation of the autonomous curriculum.
a. Learning Organization
The teacher must first create ATP and teaching modules from the outcomes of the development of the teacher working group team (KKG), which contains CP and TP, in order to implement the independent curriculum, based on the findings of the research regarding its implementation that has been described above. Educators will utilize the teaching module to plan learning activities for teaching and learning activities. In this case, a teacher carefully considered the course material, assessment, time given, learning materials, and the instructional strategies and media to be employed. As a result, the learning activities have been organized neatly in the planning and execution of the lesson, followed by the selection of the learning methods and media. will be applied later in the learning process.
b. Applying what has been learned
Based on the findings of researches’ observations and interviews. Teachers at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang are implementing the autonomous curriculum learning while adopting a scientific approach, where scientific activities are the learning strategy employed in the independent curriculum learning process. When it comes to project-based learning, scientific activities begin with observation, questioning, processing, presentation, reasoning, and creation.
c. Assessment
The formative and summative evaluation activities carried out by teachers at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang are authentic assessments, per the conclusions of the aforementioned interviews. An evaluation that evaluates the input, learning process, and learning output is known as an authentic assessment.
4. Efforts made by Teachers in overcoming Problems in Implementing the Independent Curriculum
Following their interviews with Mr. "KS," the principal of SMK Aisyiyah Palembang, and the teachers, the researchers discovered the following information about the efforts the teacher made to overcome obstacles when implementing the independent curriculum:
a. Learning Planning
Some of the findings from interviews related to the teacher’s efforts in overcoming the challenges of implementing the independent curriculum,
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particularly in learning planning at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang as described by Mr.
"KS", that: "the teacher’s efforts in overcoming challenges in preparing lesson plans is to look for information on the internet, the independent learning platform, and sharing with teachers who have attended independent curricula."
The same message was delivered by Mrs. "G5", Mrs. "G7," Mrs. "G8," and Mrs.
"G11," who said that they overcame difficulties in creating lesson plans by soliciting help from friends who had taken part in independent curriculum training, compiling ATP, looking up information online, and using independent teaching platforms.
b. Learning Implementation
Mrs. "S" described the teacher’s efforts to overcome obstacles to learning, saying, "To overcome obstacles to learning because there were no books, I took the initiative to find sources of books on the internet and then I printed them myself."
Mr. "G2," who remarked that "The efforts I made to overcome problems in the process of implementing learning were by finding the material to be discussed myself, and preparing simple learning media," expressed the same idea.
c. Evaluation
Evaluation of instructors’ efforts to address issues encountered while evaluating the independent curriculum, as stated by Mrs. "G7" and Mrs. "G8": "To address issues encountered while assessing the independent curriculum. Our goal is to do a formative evaluation last and a summative assessment first. Mr. "G9" stated the same thing, saying that his initial step in streamlining the assessment process was to do a summative evaluation before moving on to a formative assessment.
Mrs. "G12" expressed the same idea when she said: "The efforts I have made to solve obstacles in the evaluation process are by completing a summative assessment process first and then analyzing other areas, so that the assessment process would be straightforward. One can enhance learning through improving instruction, which is significantly influenced by the teacher. Given that teaching is a system, it is necessary to improve every component of the system. Objectives, resources, and evaluation are all crucial elements. The instructor must be able to evaluate the competencies that students have acquired through each learning process in order to identify whether a student needs to improve as well as to select the next lesson plan in terms of the material to be supplied or the strategic strategy.
D. Conclusions
Based on the findings of the research and the discussion above, I draw the following conclusion on the principal’s approach to raising teacher performance at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang: 1) The principal’s plan to increase teacher performance in using the independent curriculum at SMK Aisyiyah Palembang includes increasing discipline by checking attendance records, inspiring teachers to be role models by setting the best examples in all that they do in the classroom, and conducting supervision that includes observation, assessment, and evaluation of the performance of educators. The process of implementing a program plan (curriculum) in the classroom using the teacher as a learning tutor and the students
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as objects to be given knowledge is known as the implementation of the independent curriculum. Students are also expected to have potential within themselves in the form of a Pancasila student profile. Students who have developed the six components that make up this profile are those students. The six aspects are as follows: Faith and reverence to God Almighty; Independence; Mutual cooperation;
Global variety; Critical thinking; and Creativity. 2) The SMK Aisyiyah Palembang principal’s strategy for enhancing teacher performance is affected by the following supporting and limiting factors: a) Learning planning (creating ATP, Teaching Modules, and the methods or media to be used). b) Implementation of learning (few supportive infrastructure and facilities, from learning media to student and instructor handbooks that are not yet available). c) Assessment (evaluation in the independent curriculum ranges from formative assessment through summative evaluation, and is quite involved. Sub-assessments are subsequently included in the assessment, which is legitimate.
E. Acknowledgement
Thank you to all respondents, Wahana Didaktika jurnal and all stakeholders who help me in this study.
References
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Iskandar (2018). Educational and Social Research Methodology (Quantitative and Qualitative). Jakarta: GP Press
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Pemerintah Indonesia. Regulation of the Minister of National Education Number 35 of 2010 concerning Technical Instructions for the Implementation of Teacher Functional Positions and Credit Scores. Jakarta
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